Moment in Time Part 3
Chapter 33
Tone Death
Part 2
Esposito bangs on the apartment door of Dexter Grimes, Agnes' ex-boyfriend. The unemployed welder and ex-con eyes him suspiciously. "I've made all my check-ins, and I'm in line for another job. Leave me alone."
"Relax, Dexter," Esposito advises. "We're not looking for you. We need to talk to Agnes Molina."
"I haven't seen her," Dexter claims.
"Then you shouldn't mind if we have a look," Esposito retorts, pushing inside, followed by Ryan and Castle.
Rick points to a lipstick-stained glass. "Your shade Dexter?"
"It's my mother's."
"I suppose this is your mother's too?" Rick inquires, hooking one finger under a 36B bra.
"It is. She can be a little sloppy sometimes."
Esposito lifts up a framed photograph of Dexter with his extremely well-endowed mother. "Uh-huh. Right."
Castle continues circling the room, opening cabinet doors and peeking behind chairs. Finally hearing a sneeze, he peers behind the couch. "Dexter, your mother must have found the fountain of youth." He nods at the woman cowering against the floor. "Agnes Molina, I presume."
"Look, I admit Robyn and I had our beefs," Agnes claims. "But I didn't kill her. She called and asked me to be her bodyguard. She promised to pay me $500."
"Who was she afraid of?" Castle asks.
Agnes shrugs. "I don't know. She just said it was someone at the acapella competition. I was supposed to meet her at the theater to get my money, but she never showed. Then when I heard she was dead, I figured the cops would come looking for me. So Dexter let me crash at his place."
Esposito leans into Agnes' face. "How do we know you didn't kill her and take the money?"
"Sh*t! If I had the money, I could have gotten out of the city or at least found a motel. Do you think I didn't know that sooner or later you'd come looking for me here? I had no choice. But you can check my DNA or anything you want. I didn't kill Robyn."
"Yeah," Esposito assures her. "We'll be doing that."
Scott and Linda Weinstein lean forward earnestly in their seats in the lounge. "I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt Robyn," Linda claims. "She'd come so far. When we first welcomed her into NBP, she was angry, frightened, and confused. But she threw herself into it with her whole heart, forming Aka-Con and reaching out to so many others who need a fresh start."
"Had you spoken to her lately?" Kate inquires.
"Yes, of course. Aka-Con was supposed to be part of the benefit for NBP. She wanted to make sure every detail was perfect. So she was over the moon when Martha Rodgers volunteered to help. But oh, Ms. Rodgers is your mother-in-law, isn't she, Captain Beckett?"
"Yes, she is, which is one of the reasons I'm personally supervising this investigation. But Martha tells me that the benefit will continue as planned, as a testimonial to Robyn."
"Yes," Scott confirms, "and Aka-Con will be participating in an acapella competition as well. Captain Beckett, you don't think that someone from a competing group would go after Robyn?"
"I don't discount any possibility, Mr. Weinstein. "I'd appreciate any details you can give me about that competition, and we'll check it out."
"A Dr. Larsen runs it," Scott offers. "You should talk to him."
"I'm not surprised Robyn King was killed," Larsen declares. "I didn't want her kind at the competition."
Esposito's eyes shoot darts. "Her kind meaning talented black women?"
"Her kind meaning ex-cons," Larsen protests. "I knew from the start that having the Aka-Cons here would be nothing but trouble. But I got pressure from some of our major patrons."
"Meaning Linda and Scott Weinstein?" Kate probes.
"Linda Weinstein in particular. Robyn was a special favorite of hers, the embodiment of her pet project's good works. Now her death puts a stain on the whole competition."
"I'm sure Robyn would apologize if she could. But she is, you know, dead," Rick snarks. "That tends to cut apologies short."
"Dr. Larsen, we need to look for any clues we can find to Robyn's killer." Kate presses. "Did she have a dressing room?"
"Yes, she did. Aka-Con will still be using it. I'll have Troy, my assistant, show you where it is."
Slipping on a pair of gloves, Ryan picks up a sheet of paper. "This is Robyn's rehearsal schedule. But I don't see much else here."
"With acapella, you wouldn't find any instruments or their accouterments." Castle points out.
The sound of a beatbox drifts through the ventilation system. "Oh, there are instruments all right," Esposito insists. "They just come on legs."
Esposito leads the way to the sound's source, a dressing room on the floor below, where an acapella group emotes in rhythm. "We need to ask you about Robyn King," Kate announces.
"You want to talk; you need to stick to the beat," the group's leader raps.
"I got this covered," Esposito claims.
After the rhythmic exchange, Kate signals her team to move to a quieter room. "If I got all that, it sounds like Robyn confronted a guy named Hunter about bribing Dr. Larsen to throw the competition to his group. Larsen said he'd handle it and left with Robyn."
Flanked by Esposito, Kate stares across the interrogation table at her suspect. "Robyn King heard you taking a bribe, Dr. Larsen. If that got out, you'd be ruined. You'd never administer another competition. I doubt many teaching jobs would come your way either."
"We've heard worse motives for murder." Esposito points out. "And Robyn was just one of 'those people.'"
"All right. I admit I didn't like her, but I didn't kill her," Larsen protests. "We made a deal."
"What kind of a deal?" Kate demands.
"It was strange, but the woman must have had an ego on her. We had a DVD intro about Aka-Con for the competition. At first, Robyn acted as if she didn't care. But then, after she saw it, she wanted a copy – desperately. I don't know what she was planning to do with it. But she told me if I turned down the bribe and she got the disc, she wouldn't blow the whistle on me. So I agreed."
"We're going to need to see that video," Kate declares.
"I'll get you a copy," Larsen promises. "But I need to go back to the competition. I have a lot of things to organize."
"Then organize them," Kate instructs, "but don't leave town. And if I don't have that DVD on my desk by nine a.m. tomorrow, you're going to be a guest of the city."
"And I don't think you'll like the accommodations," Esposito adds. "You might have to share them with one of 'those people.'"
Rick pops the last of the Raisenettes he was sharing with Ryan in Observation into Kate's mouth. "What do you think is on that intro?"
Kate chews thoughtfully. "I don't know. But I'm willing to bet it had something to do with why Robyn was killed. Want to have a watch party?"
"Absolutely! But nine a.m. is a little early for popcorn – unless you never went to bed. And I fully intend to enjoy your presence in our bed tonight. How about cronuts? You can raise your blood sugar and cholesterol levels all in one bite. And I'll make the coffee."
"Vanilla lattes?"
"Whatever the captain desires."
"Sounds perfect."